Determinants of island tourism development: The example of Dachangshan Island

Islands possess their own patterns of spatial and temporal evolution as tourist destinations. Taking Dachangshan Island as an example, two key stages were identified: a 'landscape-oriented' period from 2002 to 2009, and a 'background' stage from 2009 to 2012. Co-existing with both periods was changing spatial and land-use patterns of expansion and intensification. Using spatial mapping techniques, it was found that tourist resources were found to be the original driving force, tourist transportation and social and economic factors were endogenous determinants of change, and tourist enterprises and source markets subject to government policies the exogenous factors.     

Situating the wildlife spectacle: ecofeminism,representation, and polar bear tourism

This paper presents a critical investigation of power relations circulating in promotional materials associated with polar bear tourism in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. Drawing on precepts of ecofeminism, critical discourse analysis, and the content of cultural texts (websites, souvenirs) produced by tourism operators, businesses, and crown corporations, the study interprets how representations of polar bears re-inscribe regimes of truth that marginalize non-human animal others and are complicit with patriarchal ideologies. Focus in our analysis is placed first, on illustrating the portrayal of “performing spectacle bears” – a socially constructed subjectivity designed to serve the desires of wildlife tourism producers and consumers – and, second, on diagnosing the privileged discourses that work to maintain and normalize this construction, along with the interspecies dynamics they support. In effect, the paper sheds light on the complex and recurrent effects of anthropocentric and instrumentalist orientations in tourism, including their contingency upon masculine systems of value and rationality. The paper also points out the potential of ecofeminist ethics of care for enhancing interspecies relationships in sustainable tourism.     

Enabling the language of accessible tourism

The growing body of literature on “accessible tourism” lacks a critical scholarly debate around its specific language use and nomenclatures. To fill this gap, this paper provides a first examination of language. Language provides a unique capability to resist, strengthen and reframe identities of individuals and groups, yet can also reinforce, weaken and perpetuate dominant worldviews of disability. A content analysis examined previous accessible tourism literature with results illustrating that diversity exists amongst the varying terminologies adopted by scholars. Terms were employed loosely, inconsistently and interchangeably, euphemistically with erroneous understandings and nuances. The paper concludes with critical discussion about the power of researchers to (re) produce oppression through language that maligns and misrepresents, or to (re) conceptualise and (re) construct the world we live in with liberating language that facilitates positive social change.     

Two-dimensional mapping of Asia Pacific destinations combining tourism and economic indicators

The present study aims to cluster five Asia Pacific destinations (Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Singapore) with respect to other countries according to the evolution of the main tourism and economic indicators over the period between 2000 and 2014. By assigning a numerical value to each country corresponding to its position, we summarize all the information into two components (“tourism expenditure and profitability of tourism activity” and “tourism development and economic growth”) using different multivariate techniques for dimensionality reduction. By means of perceptual maps, we find that the five Asia Pacific destinations can be clustered into three different groups: Hong Kong and Singapore, which are the most mature markets; Indonesia and the Philippines, with moderate growth rates in most variables; and Cambodia, with top positions in all variables, showing a huge potential in terms of growth and tourism development and the challenges derived therefrom.     

Using a network data envelopment analysis model to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of cultural tourism promotion in Taiwan

The importance of tourism promotion has been discussed throughout past studies, and the consequences of ineffective promotion have also been investigated. While tourism promotion is a topic of interest to many researchers, performance measurement used to assess the effectiveness of tourism promotion is a topic seldom discussed. The purpose of this study is to develop an approach based on the data envelopment analysis (DEA) model to evaluate performance for tourism promotion. The main difference compared with previous DEA models is the evaluation of multiple efficiencies in a single DEA implementation, and the assessment of overall efficiency in a ratio index. In the assumption of variables, we use cultural tourism promotion as a foundation in formulating the empirical evaluation, and we test the proposed model by using data across 20 regions in Taiwan.     

Estimating the impact of entertainment on the restaurant revenues of a Las Vegas hotel casino: An exploratory study

Considering the growing presence of non-gaming amenities in a mature casino market such as the Las Vegas Strip, this study examined the indirect contribution of showroom entertainment to casino-operated restaurant business volumes. Using the internal data of a Las Vegas hotel casino, this research found a statistically significant and positive relationship between daily showroom headcounts and food and beverage revenues. For each additional show attendee, daily food and beverage revenue increased $6.96. This finding suggests that casino executives should consider leveraging show traffic with additional revenue-enhancing venues such as restaurants.     

Environmental scanning the future of event design

This paper used multiple sources of information in order to identify the forces likely to impact event design. Content analysis of key informant interviews and selected trade publication articles identified key forces impacting event design. Technology, the environment and green issues, security and safety, and globalization were forces identified by both the key informants and the trade literature. Neither of the sources gave much attention to political forces. This article contributes to our understanding of the forces impacting event design and suggests some environmental scanning methodologies that can be used with both key informants and the trade publication literature.     

Hotel efficiency: A bootstrapped metafrontier approach

This paper introduces the metafrontier concept to account for the environmental and technological differences between various hotels groups. The interesting feature of the model is that it ensures that heterogeneous hotels are compared based on one homogenous technology. We test the model using a panel data sample of 78 Taiwanese hotels. The results clearly indicate that the size, ownership, and classification of a particular hotel have a significant impact on its efficiency. More implications of the results are provided.     

主题公园游客满意度曲线研究——以深圳欢乐谷为例

游客量直接决定主题公园的经营绩效,游客满意度是影响游客量的关键要素之一。本文首先通过对深圳华侨城三大主题公园的预调研,构建了主题公园游客满意度曲线模型;然后以深圳欢乐谷为例,通过回归分析,对主题公园的游客满意度曲线进行了拟合检验,发现主题公园的游客满意度曲线表现为倒U形。为了使主题公园经营者能够有效地利用倒U形模型,本文将游客满意度曲线划分为5个区间,针对每个区间给出了提高游客满意度水平的策略,为主题公园稳定游客量提供了理论依据。     

北京旅游目的地形象的感知——中西方旅游者博客的多维话语分析

目前,很少有学者采用旅游者博客这一新兴的方式研究游客对旅游目的地形象的感知。文章选择中西方旅游者博客话语为切入点,从“文化繁荣”、“宜居和生态”、“现代化大都市”、“社会和谐”和“经济发展”5个维度探讨中西方游客对北京旅游目的地形象感知的异同,并讨论了两个不同旅游群体在文化背景、意识形态和消费水平方面的差异。最后,文章对如何提升来京中西方游客的体验评价提出了切实的建议。此研究意在强调旅游者博客在旅游目的地形象研究中的重要意义,同时亦希望能够对话语分析的跨学科发展作出贡献。